Lonely Planet Names USA’s Best Regional Desserts

Considering that the U.S. is a (relatively young) product of a diverse melting pot, it’s not very easy to identify a certain desserts — yes, even our beloved apple pie — as definitively "American." They’re usually a hybrid of American ingredients and other countries’ recipes. Out of the adapted desserts, though, which ones are the most iconic? Lonely Planet’s Candace Driskell recently tackled this question to come up with a widespread list of "The USA’s Best Regional Desserts."

According to Driskell, although this list of eight desserts was "hard to define," choosing to focus on regions allowed her to find examples of well-loved desserts that Americans have "made their own." She ultimately included info based off Yelp! and other forum posts, as well as family and friend recommendations. The final cut includes regional favorites like black and white cookies, chess pie, and fried Coke.

Lonely Planet food lists like these are precursors to new food and travel titles to be released in the coming year by the well-known travel guide authors, according to Driskell. One of the books to come reportedly features tips from chefs on their favorite places to eat when they’re eating on the road. We’re staying tuned.